Technological advances are often crucial for event planners to have a marketing edge. Here are new and recently renovated Miami/South Florida venues that have stayed on top of upgrades and improved offerings for tech-savvy guests. The hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
Aloft Miami Dadeland, which opened in September, offers the brand's TiGi (“text it, get it”) room service menu, in which guests place orders simply by texting an emoji. The SPG App—available for smartphones, iPads, and Apple Watches—lets people check in and get their room number by using their mobile devices. It also has a feature called SPG Keyless that allows guests to use their mobile devices as room keys. The 119-room hotel has 383 square feet of meeting space that can seat 22 theater-style or 18 in conference-style or classroom-style set-ups. The hotel has a new lobby, fitness center, and W XYZ Bar, which overflows to an 1,000-square-foot outdoor patio and pool area that can seat 50 banquet-style.
The Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton in Hollywood will unveil its $100 million transformation in January. The 1,000-room property, which is changing its name from the Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood, has more than 209,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including the 50,000-square-foot Great Hall, four ballrooms, and 39 additional breakout rooms. The largest ballroom, the 20,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, seats 1,750 theater-style, 1,300 banquet-style, or 1,040 classroom-style. A 20,000-square-foot pre-assembly area holds 2,105 people for receptions. Teleconferencing, Wi-Fi access, fiber optic lines for direct camera feeds, and T-1 phone lines are available in every meeting room. The renovations will introduce more than 10 new culinary concepts, such as Point Royal, an American eatery from chef Geoffrey Zakarian; Monkitail, a Japanese restaurant from chef Michael Schulson; Diplomat Prime, an upscale steakhouse; and Candy & Cones, a parlor for confectionery and ice cream. Members of Hilton's loyalty program can use the Hilton HHonors app to check in and check out of the resort via mobile devices. By the end of 2016, the app will be available for iPads, and will allow guests to have real-time chats with hotel staff, choose their rooms before checking in, and use a "pin my room" feature to select a favorite room for future stays.
In November, Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale will begin unveiling an expansion that will add more than 120,000 square feet of new activities to this entertainment venue. The new additions will include the Arena Roller Rink, a 16,000-square foot space that has a 12,000-square-foot skating rink with a DJ booth and V.I.P. mezzanine. The roller rink's main section can seat 800 or hold 2,000 people standing, while the V.I.P. section seats 60 or holds 100 standing guests. There will be new Evolution Escape Rooms offering physical games that challenge participants to solve puzzles and escape during a certain time limit. The venue is also adding Rockin' Jump Trampoline Park, as well as Lauderdale Auto Museum featuring the Dezer Collection of classic cars, movie cars, military vehicles, and micro cars. The new attractions will have D.A.S. concert array speakers, 200-inch projection screens, mirror balls, video walls, 2,000-watt subwoofers, and more than 110 lights consisting of moving, strobe, lasers, and light bars. In 2017, Xtreme Action Park will debut a 24,000-square-foot Airsoft Arena, indoor ski machines, and a synthetic ice-skating rink.
This summer, the Ritz-Carlton, Naples began offering charging stations for electric cars. Charging stations are also available at Ritz-Carlton in other South Florida locations such as South Beach, Bal Harbour, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, and Fort Lauderdale. Using an app, guests can check in and check out of the property with their smartphones, as well as make special requests. The app also has a chat feature so guests can interact directly with the hotel staff. The 450-room luxury property has more than 42,000 square feet of meeting space, including three ballrooms and 12 breakout rooms. The largest space is the 10,260-square-foot Vanderbilt Ballroom, which can seat 1,000 theater-style, 525 classroom-style, or 138 U-shaped style.
Paris 6, a French bistro with several locations around the world, opened an outpost in Miami Beach's City Center neighborhood in October. The 3,638-square-foot restaurant seats 138 people in the main dining area and 48 outside. Chef de cuisine Atillo Padra oversees the menu for the 24-hour restaurant, which has Midnight in Paris-inspired paintings by Brazilian artist Flavio Rossi. Paris 6 has its own app, which includes e-vouchers, information about the menu, photos, links to make reservations, and local event partnerships.
Open since September, the Hilton Garden Inn Miami Dolphin Mall occupies a dual-branded space with the Homewood Suites by Hilton Miami Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater. Together, the hotels have 232 rooms and share 5,500 square feet of meeting and event space, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a putting green. The meeting space includes the 2,000-square-foot Flamingo Ballroom, which holds 200 for receptions or seats 225 theater-style, 175 banquet-style, or 90 classroom-style. The 1,682-square-foot Sandpiper meeting room holds 225 people for receptions and offers a 1,200-square-foot private terrace that holds 100 for cocktails. The property's Heron Board Room seats 12. Using the Hilton HHonors app, guests can check in through their mobile devices and select their room based on the hotel layout and its outside surroundings. The app is also integrated with Google Maps. By the end of 2016, Hilton hotels will make the Digital Key app available for iPads, add a real-time chat feature for guests to chat with hotel staff, and a “pin my room” feature that allows guests to mark their favorite room so they can request it on future visits.
Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel opened in October after an $18 million renovation. The 157-room property has about 23,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space that can handle groups of 400 seated guests or receptions of 800 guests. Guests can use the SPG app to browse and book hotels, check in to participating hotels, and unlock their hotel rooms. The app is available for smartphones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
Residence Inn Miami Airport West/Doral, which opened in October, is a 129-room Marriott brand hotel that has charging stations for electric cars. Guests also have access to the streaming service Netflix. The Marriott Mobile app, which can alert guests when their rooms are ready for check-in, gives people the ability to check in and check out of the hotel by using their mobile devices. The hotel has a 467-square-foot meeting room that can seat 31 people theater-style, 20 people banquet-style, or 16 people in U-shaped seating.
The Gates Hotel South Beach—A DoubleTree by Hilton opened in September in the space formerly occupied by Aloft South Beach. The 235-room hotel has three meeting rooms for small gatherings. The largest, Room A, is 612 square feet and seat 30 banquet-style, 25 theater-style, or 18 class-room style. For larger events, the Lobby Lounge has standing capacity for 100, and the Sun Deck holds about 150 for receptions. Digital check-in is available for the hotel through the Hilton HHonors app, and guests can use its Digital Key feature to access their hotel rooms, fitness center, pool, and other secure areas of the hotel.
Towne Place Suites Miami Homestead is expected to open in November in Homestead. The 97-suite Marriott brand hotel has a 720-square-foot meeting room that can seat 70 theater-style, 50 banquet style or classroom-style, 30 in U-shaped seating, or 80 people for reception-style events. Mobile check-in and check-out are available on the Marriott Mobile app, which can alert guests when their rooms are ready for check-in.
